Sportsmen and militia utilize firearms daily throughout the United States and the world. Many companies mass manufacture rifles, shotguns, and other weapons to meet this demand.
The nature of such shoulder weapons, in general, poses several problems. A fully loaded medium caliber (such as a 0.30-06) rifle equipped with telescopic sight could easily weigh ten (10) pounds. Carrying such a weapon over even moderate distances or for extended time periods can pose a considerable difficulty. The user tires and muscular fatigue contributes to unsteadiness of aim and inaccuracy of shot placement.
Further, mass produced firearms do not provide a solid or full contact fit between the barrelled-action of the firearm and the stock. Mass produced stocks are machined to fit all barreled-actions in a particular series. Since no two barreled-actions are exactly the same, this requires tolerance, or space, to be built into each stock. When the weapon is fired, this tolerance allows the recoiling metal barreled-action to move slightly before coming into full contact with the stock. The moving barreled-action gains momentum before striking the stock and transfers more energy instantaneously to the shooter. This "hammer action" increases the apparent recoil of the firearm and has a destructive effect on the stock. As the barreled-action repeatedly hammers the stock bedding surfaces, the stock can crack and split around the receiver. The lack of solid fit also causes the metal to inconsistently rest on the bedding surface for subsequent shots and a decrease in accuracy potential also results.
Manufacturers historically carved firearm stocks from hard woods, such as maple, walnut, mesquite, mahogany, oak, and ash. More recently, manufacturers have begun to create stocks from laminated wood blanks. Either of these result in solid stocks, which are heavy and difficult to machine to achieve precise bedding.
Attempts to reduce the weight of stocks led to the use of hollowed-out, composite firearm stock shells. The shell remained hollow or was filled with sound deadening foam or fiber filler. The composite shell reduces stock weight, but lacks the structural integrity necessary to provide solid bedding for the barreled-receiver. The hollow, composite shell does not absorb significant amounts of recoil energy which is therefore transmitted to the shooter; furthermore, this type of stock does not improve the rigidity of the firearm; and as a result of the foregoing, accuracy suffers.
The present invention provides a lightweight, high strength firearm stock which overcomes the previously described problems of conventional firearm stocks.